Wednesday, 9 February 2022

Elective surgery

Ms KEALY (Lowan) (14:10): My question is to the Minister for Health. I recently met with Tiana and Billy, parents of their delightful four-month-old son, Malik. Malik was born with a cleft lip palate, which impacts his ability to feed, impacting his physical development. His hearing is also significantly affected and he wears a hearing device. As cleft palate correction surgery is deemed elective under Victoria’s code brown, Malik’s surgery has been deferred indefinitely. Given the optimal period for Malik’s surgery is right now, why is the minister refusing to change the callous decision that prevents this four-month-old baby from receiving the corrective surgery he so vitally needs?

Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (14:11): Can I thank the honourable member for her question. As I think honourable members are well aware, it is not my practice to refer to specific cases in this place, for all manner of reasons. But should the honourable member, as I am sure many honourable members have, raise this particular set of issues with me, of course these matters I will undertake and will address in the normal way in which these matters are dealt with. In regard to the specific issue that the honourable member raises in regard to elective surgery, I would refer the honourable member to the answer to the question that the Leader of the Opposition just raised in the first question today and reiterate all of those manner of answers, particularly the issue when it—

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, Malik’s parents, Tiana and Billy, are watching today. They want to get an answer over when his surgery can go ahead. I refer to the minister’s previous answer that he follows clinical advice. The clinical advice is that the best time for cleft palate surgery is between four and six months of age. He needs it now. When will the minister review his decision?

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Lowan did not raise a point of order.

Mr FOLEY: In regard to the general matter of elective surgery, no-one is seeking to extend the issues of elective surgery restrictions for one moment longer than they need to be. Whether it is this case or the many, many other cases that regrettably are being rescheduled as a result of this, those restrictions will not be there for a moment longer than they need to be, and I refer the honourable member to my answer to the honourable Leader of the Opposition’s question.

The SPEAKER: Order! Just before calling the point of order, I do need members on my left to stop shouting across the chamber.

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this question is specific to cleft palate surgery. It has an immediate requirement of being undertaken between four and six months of age. What is the minister doing to revert his decision to cancel this time-imperative surgery?

The SPEAKER: Order! I heard the original question. The minister has been relevant and has concluded his answer.

Ms KEALY (Lowan) (14:14): There are many Victorian babies who are waiting for cleft palate correction surgery, putting these babies at long-term risk of developmental delays, scarring and permanent damage to hearing. Under government modelling, how many babies will miss the optimal window for cleft palate corrective surgery due to the government’s elective surgery ban?

Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (14:14): Firstly the honourable member’s use of inflammatory language is very regrettable. There is no ban on surgery. What there is is a rescheduling as a result of a global pandemic arrangement being put in place. What we have is a situation where non-category 1 elective surgery across the board, with various particular circumstances being put in place—

Ms Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, my question is specific to how many babies will miss their optimal window for cleft palate surgery because of the government’s ban on elective surgery. Specific to that, the minister has not referred to the numbers of babies who are missing their cleft palate surgery at all, and I ask you to bring him back to the question.

Ms Allan: On the point of order, Speaker, I ask that you rule the member’s point of order out of order, as the minister is being entirely relevant to the question that was asked. I would suggest, Speaker, through you to those opposite, that they would struggle to have been listening to the minister given the constancy of their interjections, which undermine any attempt to provide this information in a genuine way. Having said that, the minister was being entirely relevant to the question. He is entitled to correct the misrepresentation of the situation as put by the member for Lowan in answering the question.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I listened carefully to the question that was asked, and the minister is being relevant to the question that was asked.

Mr FOLEY: Thank you, Speaker. And in that regard I was pleased to announce a few days ago that in fact non-category 1 surgery has actually recommenced in the state of Victoria. What we have seen is day surgery recommence, and what we have seen is indeed the decisions being made by clinicians being scheduled by clinicians in response to clinical conditions.